joining us now is our senior personal finance correspondent sharon eferson and casey robinson say casey to set up one of these, it was very difficult. every state has their own rules. it's stuff about going through a brokerage. help us understand the appeal of 529 plans and the best way to set them up. >> absolutely. so the 529 plan, it was named after the section in the tax code and the primary benefit of opening one is to tax benefits a lot of states are give you a state income tax deduction when you contribute to it your earning are tax deferred and if used for qualified education expenses your withdrawals are federal tax free and state income tax free. as far as trying to understand the sea of 529 plans out there, it can be overwhelming there's as you mentioned plans that you would invest with a broker plans you could go online and open yourself. as far as which plan is best, it really depends on the individual's personal situation. >> but i think the key, sharon, is you want to look for the ones that have the lowest fees. you want to start these things as soon as you can, and they'